Down back on track and into Tailteann quarter-finals

They may have taken the scenic route but Down are back on form and booked their place in the Tailteann Cup quarter-finals with a convincing 12-point victory over Longford on Saturday at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park. Conor Laverty's men had to pick themselves up from a disappointing defeat to Offaly in the second round but they did just that and goals were the order of the day on their second away trip in a row. They scored two in each half courtesy of Eamon Brown, Patrick Brooks, Ryan Magill and Ruairi O'Hare, and while Longford pulled one back late on, Down never looked in trouble in this fixture. The Mourne visitors got the scoreboard moving within 20 seconds of throw-in when they won a free converted by Pat Havern. Matthew Flynn replied with a point from play at the other end but Down were just getting warmed up with a fantastic point from Shane Annett followed by a sweet finish to the net by Brown who was a late replacement for Callum Rogers in the starting line-up. That was in the sixth minute and while Longford stayed in touch with a point from Peter Lynn and a two-pointer sent over the bar by Joe Hagan - either side of a free converted by Brown on the back of another goal opportunity from an advanced mark - Down led by two 0-4 to 1-3 with 15 minutes played. Longford had chances to close the gap but Oran Kenny struck a free wide and a gift from a Down breach saw Dylan Farrell kick a poor two-point effort well off target. Meanwhile, on 23 minutes, Patrick Brooks, another late starter for the Mournemen got on the end of a super pass from Odhran Murdock, twisted full circe on the ball and struck low to the net. Annett tagged on a point and Murdock got his name on the scoresheet with the next and with that Down led 0-4 to 2-5. Paddy Moran replied for the hosts but a long dangerous ball into the square was scooped from under his crossbar by Down goalkeeper Ronan Burns to deny Longford a goal and following another Brown point, Burns converted a '45 to make it 0-5 to 2-7. Longford scored two of the last three points before the break but Conor Laverty's men still held a convincing seven-point lead 0-7 to 2-8 when the half-time hooter blew. The second half couldn't have started any better for the Mournemen as they broke from throw-in and Havern played the ball across the face of goal for Ryan Magill who fisted into the net increasing Down's lead to 10-points. Oran Kenny was working hard for Longford converting a brace of points in reply but they were soon cancelled out with scores from Miceal Rooney and Havern with a lovely turn and score. And on 44 minutes Down had all but secured the win when a third late starter Ruairi O'Hare swatted home their fourth goal. It followed a lovely flowing team move through the heart of the Longford defence, with Murdock passing to Daniel Guinness who found O'Hare at the far post. Kenny replied with a two-point free but points from Caolan Mooney and Rooney either side of one from Longford sub Dessie Reynolds kept the visitors well in front leading 0-13 to 4-14 midway through the half. Murdock added a lovely point before a goal chance by Cian Brady was cleared off the line at the other end, but on 62 minutes, Longford did pull a maximum back when the ball barely crossed the line in a goalmouth scramble via Reynolds. It made no difference to the result however, Down had this match well won and they kept the scoreboard ticking over with further points from subs Jamie Doran, Oran Cunningham and another from Mooney, with just two more from their opponents to win the game comfortably 1-15 to 4-18.

MATCH STATS Down: R Burns (0-3, 1tpf, 1'45); P Fegan, P Laverty, P Brooks (1-0); E Brown (1-2,1f), S Annett (0-2), R Magill (1-0); T Close, O Murdock (0-2); D Guinness, C Doherty, M Rooney (0-2); R McCormack, P Havern (0-2,1f), R O'Hare (1-1) Subs: C Mooney (0-2) for Close (ht), C Rogers for McGill (47), J Doran (0-1) for Annett (52), Ó Cunningham (0-1) for McCormack (55), T McCarroll for O’Hare (66)

Longford: E McGuinness; P Fox, N Farrelly, B Masterson; P Lynn (0-1), O O'Toole, C Brady; C Smith, D Duggan; M Flynn (0-1), J Hagan (0-3,1tp), D Reynolds; P Moran (0-1), D Farrell (0-2, 1f), O Kenny (0-5) Subs: A Farrell for D Farrell (46), D Reynolds (1-2, 1tp) for Farrelly (49), G Farrelly for D Reynolds, M Carey for Flynn (56)

Referee: Barry Tiernan (Dublin)